415,000 Rohingyas have crossed into Bangladesh: UN

Dhaka, Sep 18 (IANS) The UN office in Bangladesh on Monday said that around 415,000 members of the Muslim Rohingya minority community have crossed into the country from Myanmar over the last three weeks.

Around 3,000 more people had arrived since Sunday, and Monday saw a smaller number of boats carrying Rohingyas travelling to Bangladesh compared to the previous days, the Inter-Sectoral Coordination Group said in its latest report.

“Cross-border movement on September 17 was noted to be slower than on previous days. Smaller numbers of people reportedly arrived in Cox’s Bazar by boats,” Efe news cited the group’s report as saying.

It added that around 225,000 refugees — 8,000 more than Sunday — were living in spontaneous shelters, around 161,000 — 3,000 more than the day before — were in pre-existing camps and another 29,000 Rohingyas were housed in host communities.

“There is an increase in internal mobility within Cox’s Bazar, new arrivals are reported to be moving from spontaneous settlements to makeshift settlements,” the report said.

Around 415,000 Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh since August 25, in the wake of a violent military offensive launched after Rohingya rebels attacked police posts.

The UN office in Bangladesh believes the number of refugees in Bangladesh could double in the coming weeks. It earlier said the armed offensive could be considered “ethnic cleansing”.